Halloween is approaching, which also means that the Creative Alliance's Great Halloween Lantern Parade is coming up this Saturday in Patterson Park at 7 p.m. Celebrating its 10th year, the event will feature a new pre-parade festival in the park starting at 5 p.m.

The pre-parade activities will include hayrides, storytelling, hot cider, food, live music, and last minute lantern-making. And then, of course, there's the parade, which will illuminate the area with more than 1,200 paper lanterns—a Baltimore tradition now 10 years in the making.

But, like many arts institutions, the Creative Alliance has taken a big hit in this economy. So in order to keep this Baltimore tradition alive, it's more important than ever to attend the event this year, and show just how integral it is to the city.

[Image: courtesy of flickr.com/photos/22316833@N02]